The Path of Cinnabar: An Intellectual Autobiography Paperback – June 11, 2009

There's probably not a single author so often misunderstood as Evola. He's attributed a number of labels that are often unflattering or downright accusatory; but, none of them are really very true. Even in Italy, all kinds of rumors were spread about him, including that he was paralyzed from a tantric ritual gone wrong, and he accumulated a reputation as a kind of goose-stepping and evil black magician.Thus, this book is extremely valuable, especially as the political situation in the world continues to spiral out of control. There will be a lot of hot heats wishing to censor Evola's works on the grounds of spurious accusations about his beliefs and character -- but that would be a mistake. How could we possibly condemn a man whose excellent traditionalist analysis was cited by Jung?Here, Evola explains in certain terms what he was: An aristocrat, a spiritual Kshatriya following the initiatic path, not some kind of ardent party member. He takes us, in an impersonal way natural to him but foreign to most autobiographies, through his intellectual journey, from his service in the war after which he suffered from suicidal thoughts and depression, his Dadaist period -- which is confusing to many, how the reactionary who wrote "Magical Idealism" could be drawn to such a dissolutive and nihilistic form of art (it makes sense, I promise) -- then onto his time spent as a collaborator in Italy where he eked out a life of minor notoriety as a critic of the system from the right, which drew the ire of certain party-affiliate gangs who tried to have him killed. Here he illuminates some questions that tend to be opaque such as the degree to which he interacted with Mussolini (not very closely,) and his intentions behind assisting the party (to influence it in a traditionalist-reactionary direction, ultimately a failure that put him in a lot of danger.)He dedicates a chapter to his attempt to formulate a philosophical system based around magical initiation, his theory of the Absolute Individual. This is valuable for those who do not read Italian, as his Essays on Magical Idealism has yet to be translated in full. He believes his endeavor to philosophize initiation was a failure, but perhaps this section might be interesting if you're familiar with German Idealism and modern philosophy.Then he sheds light on his role in the occult UR Group and his interactions with Masonry, Theosophy, and Anthroposophy. He has a few words to say about what may have split the group apart, it's worth reading the articles he compiled under Introduction to Magic, the third volume of which is available this year.I've yet to get through the rest of the book but so far it's been very enlightening. I recommend this to anyone who wants to quickly understand who the heck Evola was and what he believed, it would go a long way to dispel the radioactive aura certain ill-informed polemicists have given him who would otherwise find some value in his traditionalist writings.

This is one of those IT books, a redactic autobiography that is more to do with Evola's activities than an ordinary autobiography, it was only meant to be published posthumously, which it is now. Talks about his world view and the impulses to write the various books he wrote.NOno. Not for the newcomer to Evola, but for those who cherish his aesthetic and penetrating view of all things traditional and esoteric, a must have.

gives one a very good overview of evola;s work, very objective, he talks about his writings from his earliest to this one, seems there is a bit to be translated also [ from the few he speaks of that i was unaware of ]

The author and translator are both quick to point out that this may be the strangest autobiography ever. Almost completely lacking in clichéd "personal details," they also both suggest that the book is best regarded as a "guide to [Evola]." As such, this book, long out of print even in Italy, will be self-recommending to the vast and ever-growing crowd of what author and translator jokingly call "evolomaniacs."As already noted, Evola provides few if any details of childhood rebellion, love affairs, etc., although there is this cryptic remark: "A spontaneous detachment from ... what is generally regarded as normal, particularly in the sphere of affection, emerged as one of my distinctive traits when I was still in my early youth; or rather, it emerged ESPECIALLY in my early youth." [page 6, emphasis Evola]. In fact, Evola denies any relevance to his environment or heredity, at least in biological terms.Instead, Evola provides us with his `personal equation,' a predisposition that he is, indeed, predisposed to attribute to a pre-natal, pre-human existence, taking the form of an thirst for transcendence, what he elsewhere calls "the life which is more than life," combined with, in Hindu terms, "a kshatriya bent," manifesting as an hierarchical, aristocratic, and feudal taste.These two somewhat contradictory features, a "longing for liberation" and an urge for action resulting in self-affirmation, would form his "existential task" and only be reconciled in "my definition of 'traditionalism' in my later works."Each chapter, then, details the various intellectual and political milieus that Evola found available in the first half of the XXth century, and how he approached, assimilated, and in some cases, most notably the Traditionalist current promoted by Rene Guenon, re-designed each for his own purposes, in accordance with the aforementioned `personal equation.'Speaking of `tradition:' Since the `evolomaniacs' will want this book for the content anyway, the only question relevant here is: how well have the publishers `handed on' [traditio] Evola's guide to himself? How well have the translator and editors done their job?Lacking not only a knowledge of Italian but even the Italian text, I am not of course in a position to offer an authoritative critique of Segio Knipe's work. However, I can convey my impressions of the result, both as a native speaker of English, as well as a reader with some background in a least one of the many areas of "the Baron's" expertise.[Speaking of "The Baron," although the translator, like many others, refers to him as such, there is no evidence in this book, or anywhere else that I have looked, such as the Almanach de Gotha, to show that he was, in fact, an aristocrat -- other than one of the Spirit. Indeed, Evola himself not only never calls himself `Baron,` and slyly says on page 10 that while he never took a university degree because he didn't want to be addressed by some bourgeois title, "I was later to be addressed with all sorts of titles which I do not, in fact, possess." Until proven otherwise, I will insist that his title has the same authenticity as "Baron" Corvo's].To start with the area of expertise: having been a student of German Idealism in my university days, the chapter I most looked forward to was the one dealing with Evola's attempt to master, and then dominate, the [according to him] sorry state of Italian Idealism [Croce, Gentile, etc.] with his own doctrine of Magical Idealism, especially since not even the texts themselves have been translated [other than some lectures available at the Gornahoor site].Unfortunately, this chapter, the longest in the book, seems to have taken Fichte rather than Schopenhauer as its model, and even someone with the aforementioned scholastic background would find it tough going. Of course, this is Evola's fault, not the translator's; however, the translator has not made things any easier by some idiosyncratic renderings of frequent, and important, terms: most particularly, `placing' for what is usually translated from German as `positing,' and `conscience' in some places for what must be the Italian for `consciousness.' Although this may reflect some nuance in Italian discussions of Idealism, I think it will needlessly confuse the neophyte, who will have enough problems with Evola's Magical Idealism itself.A few other infelicities: the Fascist publisher Bottai presumably "turned on" Evola, rather than "turned down," since the articles did appear, but generated a firestorm of protest; and while a `disproval' is indeed English, it's an awkward way to `disprove' something. Otherwise, the translation is quite flowing and idiomatic, even a pleasure to read.As for the editor's contributions, these include nearly all of the many footnotes, which provide annotations that go beyond merely filling in names and dates [for which Evola seems to have had an aristocratic disdain, especially English names -- "Mutton' for "Musson,' etc.] to include extensive cross references to books and online resources for further research. I can find no controversial area of Evola studies, from anti-Semitism to National Socialism to sex magic, that the editors have failed to anticipate and provide appropriate guidance.Of course, one can always find areas of disagreement. The note on page 76 implies that Nietzsche simply "rejected" the antithesis between Apollonian and Dionysian as propounded in his first book, The Birth of Tragedy. This is far too blunt; at best, Nietzsche continued to refine the contrast, and Julian Young has argued convincingly that it continued to ground his thought right to the end.Also, the note on page 17, while containing valuable references to Wasson and Furst, fails to take into account more recent research, by Michael Hoffman for example, which would correct Evola and the editors' claim that the Greek mystery religions used "wine or other drugs;" Greek wine was no more hallucinogenic than our own, and rather than assuming, as some scholars have, that the Greeks had a different metabolism than our own, we can infer that additional drugs were added to the wine when "mixed" for serving.Finally, the note on page 151 misleadingly cites a French translation of Hans Bluher as if it were in English; given the almost total lack of English versions of Bluher's work, despite his influence from the Wandervogel to Francis Parker Yockey, it might have been good to refer the reader to such related works as Hubert Kennedy's collection, Homosexuality and Male Bonding in Pre-Nazi Germany.The editors have also included translations of six interviews of various lengths, one new, the rest having appeared in the appendix to the Italian edition of Ride the Tiger, totaling 20pp of additional material. Providing clarification on some points, and bringing in Evola's views on the contemporary scene, they also provide some charmingly dated slang: "beat girls"? And what on Earth was "the nude look"? Yowsa!As for the book's production, the only outright error I can find in the text is `bow' on page 236, where Evola has already explained that word, appearing in his title, The Bow and the Club, and must now be explaining the `club.' Also, while there is a beautiful and appropriate cover by Michael Lujan, one wonders whether some of Evola's own Dadaist paintings could not have been included as well.All in all, this is a exceptionally fine edition of an essential book by one of the XXth century's most essential thinkers. Since the Italian edition is out of print, and given the valuable editorial additions and appendices, this English language version will be the one everyone should get from now on. The publishers are to be congratulated, and above all rewarded with massive sales!

Excellent book. Ignore the hysterical naysayers that never even read his works.

Ordered the hardcover version. The contents are good and what I expected, however the cover art for the book was an alternate cover art and not the one advertised.

this is a fine work...i cannot praise the content enough....the edition, tho ,is another matter...for the price, it should be sown-bound and printed on decent paper instead of being glued. physically, this book feels like one of those print on demand jobs. but, being a reader of Evola, i finally broke down and bought it....hardcover 42 buck (after postage)...the paperback would not have been cheep either.....so am glad to have the book, but feel a cheated by the price...

Brilliant read for new Evola readers or die hard Evola fans

Almost every age produces its thinkers - but few produce thinkers who do not 'think to order' - in other words, whose minds do not simply follow the path laid out by society and surroundings. Even among such independent thinkers, few go beyond a specific field of study; even rarer are those whose horizons are not limited to their own culture. Thus an individual who breaks sharply with the prevailing opinions of his time and place, and masters and musters the knowledge of numerous fields and civilizations to develop, consolidate and defend his own Weltanschaaung, is more than a mere thinker; indeed, for such men, nothing less than the title of 'genius' does them justice. Such a man was Baron Julius Cesare Evola.The Path of Cinnabar is Baron Evola's intellectual autobiography - a personal review of his contributions in art, philosophy, spirituality, history and a number of other fields. Cinnabar, in Chinese alchemy, symbolizes yang, but the title may also be a reference to the final phase of the alchemical 'Great Work' - the reddening 'which consists of the reaffirmation of the virile sovereign nature' (page 120). The metaphor is apt, since the radical reactionary's works were, one and all, dedicated to upholding the transcendent, absolute, heroic principles of Tradition against the materialistic, superficial, transient character of the modern world.The tome consists of fifteen chapters, and an appendix that contains a number of post-war interviews of Baron Evola. The former are in approximately chronological order, but are thematic in nature, with separate chapters considering Idealism, paganism, Catholicism, Buddhism, racism, among other themes - all in relation to the perspective of Tradition. Arranging the chapters under different sections related to the main phases of the author's life would have assisted the reader greatly in obtaining some understanding of how the various parts constitute the whole; unfortunately, this was not done. Consequently, this book lacks the over-arching structure that characterizes Baron Evola's finest works, such as Revolt Against the Modern World, and The Doctrine of Awakening.The Path of Cinnabar is the first hand account of the struggle of a traditional man who found himself in the twentieth century. The author himself was acutely aware of his situation, stating 'Like a lost soldier, I have sought to join a departed army by my own means', - and his oeuvre can be understood as a set of instructions for others who seek to rejoin the ranks of Tradition. This intellectual autobiography is a summary and commentary on these instructions, as well as a valuable source of background information related to his works. Hence, the Path of Cinnabar is meant more for readers who are already familiar with the author's other writings rather than those who are encountering Evolian thought for the first time.The style of the book is narrative, albeit interspersed with critical argumentation and judgements; in contrast to the other works of the author, it contains a considerable amount of (often negative) commentary on his contemporaries. This is not altogether bad, since it provides a rare insight into the intense intellectual ferment that characterized inter-war Europe - an insight that is greatly facilitated by the concise, yet informative footnotes provided by the editor John B. Morgan. These notes provide a fascinating panorama of the last efflorescence of Occidental thought before the American occupation emasculated the European mind - a tragedy that continues to this day.A man who is born into an age that is not his own, will generally find himself selecting one of three main options: suicide, solitude, or struggle against the tide. Baron Evola nearly took the first alternative in his youth, but ultimately opted for the third, and never wavered from it. The Path of Cinnabar is his account of this lifetime of opposition to the modern world, and of the principles he championed in its stead: the tale of a kshatriya who chose to fight against hopeless odds, rather than lay down his arms.This is one the few books that can be judged by its cover.